For every one raffle ticket you purchase, your name is entered once for a chance to win these Premium Cabin tickets United donated to Equality Illinois. The drawing will be done at the Gala, but you need not be present to win.

President Obama named him one of four Democrats who represented the future of the Democratic Party and the New York Times ran a column saying that he could be the nation’s “first gay President.”

South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg, a rising national star among Democrats, will be the keynote speaker at the 2019 Gala presented by United, set to begin at 6 p.m. on Saturday, February 2 at the Hilton Chicago.

This year’s Gala is chaired by community leader Nabeela Rasheed and is on track to be one of our most successful and vibrant yet! Each year we award inspirational leaders and organizations whose selfless work helps create a world that is healthy, just and fully equal for all LGBTQ people. This year for their dedication to social justice and equality, Channyn Lynne Parker of Howard Brown’s Broadway Youth Center, and Danny Wirtz the Vice-Chairman of Breakthru Beverage Group will be the recipients of the 2019 Equality Illinois Freedom Award. The Equality Illinois Organization Leadership Award, given annually to organizations that demonstrate remarkable vision, courage, and leadership in the efforts to achieve full equality for LGBTQ individuals in Illinois, will be presented to Illinois AFL-CIO.

We are just 30 days away from the largest LGBTQ equality event in the Midwest! Have you LOCK in your tickets???

This year’s Gala is chaired by community leader Nabeela Rasheed, and is on track to be one of our most successful and vibrant yet! Each year we award inspirational leaders and organizations whose selfless work helps create a world that is healthy, just and fully equal for all LGBTQ people. This year we will celebrate and honor Channyn Lynne Parker, Danny Wirtz, and the Illinois AFL-CIO.

Now is the time to LOCK in your tickets and seating for the largest LGBTQ equality event in the Midwest and one of the largest in the country!

WE invite YOU to Equality Illinois’ 2019 Gala presented by United Airlines and hosted by Hilton Chicago taking place Feb 2, 2019.

This year’s Gala is chaired by community leader Nabeela Rasheed, and is on track to be one of our most successful and vibrant yet! Each year we award inspirational leaders and organizations whose selfless work helps create a world that is healthy, just and fully equal for all LGBTQ people. This year we will celebrate and honor Channyn Lynne Parker, Danny Wirtz, and the Illinois AFL-CIO.

Tonight, a full house of nearly 1,500 people is expected at the 2018 Equality Illinois Gala to hear about the successes and ongoing challenges of building a stronger Illinois in the face of national headwinds against LGBTQ civil rights.

The gala, which benefits the yearlong statewide LGBTQ civil rights work of Equality Illinois Institute, will recognize Planned Parenthood of Illinois, transgender youth activist Jazz Jennings, and longtime LGBTQ activist Jim Bennett. Guests will also hear from three Illinois residents who will speak on the multidimensional work of the organization and how their lives have been directly impacted by it.

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and 100 other elected officials and candidates will be introduced, plus community members, dignitaries, and allied supporters plan to attend the gala at the Hilton Chicago.

For her activism on behalf of her fellow transgender youth, Jazz Jennings will be honored at the 2018 Equality Illinois Gala as the first recipient of the Spotlight Award.

The presentation of the Equality Illinois Spotlight Award will be made at the Midwest’s largest LGBTQ formal celebration, to be held on Saturday, February 3, 2018 at the Hilton Chicago, Equality Illinois announced Thursday.

“From a very young age, Jazz was proud and open about being a transgender person, and through the force of her personality she has educated Americans about the challenges, hopes, and dreams of transgender people,” said Brian C. Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois. “We are thrilled to be able to honor her at our 2018 Gala.”

United Airlines is the Presenting Sponsor of the 2018 Equality Illinois Gala, the Midwest’s largest LGBTQ formal celebration, to be held on Saturday, February 3, 2018 at the Hilton Chicago. Gala information, including tickets, is at equalityillinois.org/2018gala.

The Gala is the single-largest fundraising event for the Equality Illinois Institute, which funds the ongoing educational and outreach work for LGBTQ equality throughout the state of Illinois.

“Illinois-based United Airlines, the Presenting Sponsor of the Gala and the Exclusive Airline of Equality Illinois since 2014, is a longtime champion of our work and of LGBTQ rights,” said Brian C. Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois. “It was one of the earliest U.S. corporations to prohibit discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation and, later, gender identity.”

Gregory D. Jones, Chief Diversity Officer of United Airlines, said, “At United, we pride ourselves on being as diverse as the communities we serve around the globe. From our headquarters in Illinois to our operations around the globe, the 90,000 members of the United family act as ambassadors for the core values of dignity, equality, and opportunity in the workplace. These are values United not only shares with Equality Illinois but which we have advanced together. But, we know our work is far from done, which is why we reaffirm our commitment as the official Airline Sponsor and Presenting Sponsor of Equality Illinois and its annual gala.”

The Equality Illinois Freedom Award, which honors individuals who demonstrate remarkable vision, courage, and leadership in the effort to achieve full equality for LGBTQ individuals in Illinois, will be presented to Jim Bennett at the 2018 Equality Illinois Gala.

For more than a decade as Midwest Regional Director and recently as Chief Development Officer, Bennett has contributed his strong and powerful voice for our community through his work at Lambda Legal, the nation’s largest legal organization dedicated to securing the full civil rights of the LGBTQ community and people with HIV.

“We will always be grateful to Jim for taking on the Herculean task of chairing the Illinois Unites for Marriage coalition, which pulled together LGBTQ organizations, Republicans and Democrats, labor and business and many more for the successful campaign to win marriage equality in Illinois,” said Brian C. Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois.

Bennett, reacting to the honor, reflected on the importance of the statewide work of Equality Illinois. “Springfield is my hometown. When I came out, I did what ‘everyone does’, I moved to Chicago. I am thankful to Equality Illinois for always seeing Illinois as one state, and I’m thrilled to be part of their efforts to make sure equality reaches all the way across the Land of Lincoln because we really are everywhere,” Bennett said.

“No matter how good we’ve done as a movement in gaining political power and public acceptance, we still find ourselves too often on the outside. We need to know how to play the game as insiders and how to fight for our rights in the streets. I am thankful that Equality Illinois has my back. They are pros at working with our leaders in the General Assembly to stop bad legislation from seeing the light of day and moving good bills. I feel protected.”

The Equality Illinois Business Leadership Award, given annually to organizations that demonstrate remarkable vision, courage, and leadership in the effort to achieve full equality for LGBTQ individuals in Illinois, will be presented to Planned Parenthood of Illinois at the 2018 Equality Illinois Gala.

“We are proud to honor Planned Parenthood for a century of providing access to sexual and reproductive health care and information, often facing tremendous challenges, and more recently for offering transgender health care services including hormone therapy in health centers in Chicago and central Illinois,” said Brian C. Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois.

Jennifer Welch, President & CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois, said, “Planned Parenthood believes that LGBTQ rights and reproductive rights are deeply connected to civil rights for all. We have long stood with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the struggle for full equality. PPIL will continue to be a strong and passionate advocate for policies that enable ALL Illinoisans to access comprehensive reproductive and sexual health care. I am so proud of the work PPIL is doing to provide quality care to anyone who needs it, no matter who they love, where they live, or how they identify. It is essential that we strive to make every patient feel welcome, comfortable, and cared for.”

“We live in scary times,” Equality Illinois CEO Brian C. Johnson told the crowd Saturday night at his first gala as CEO.

And with that preamble, Johnson issued a call to action for the 1,200 people at the Equality Illinois 2017 Gala and the millions of other Illinoisans who support justice, fairness, and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people and also for everyone marginalized by the rhetoric and actions of the new administration in Washington.

‘We will play our role, and we will play it vigorously,” Johnson promised, committing Equality Illinois to an aggressive agenda focusing on that will help make “Illinois more fair for LGBTQ people in places our stakeholders tell us they are hurting the most–in schools, in their access to health care, and in the criminal justice system.”

From a U.S. senator to gala celebrants to volunteers, the Equality Illinois 2017 Gala Saturday night was filled with love for LGBTQ Americans and the many communities we intersect that have come under attack from the new administration, including refugees and immigrants, women, and people from all races, nationalities and religions.

Thank you to everyone for a fabulous evening, made even more exciting by the messages you shared.

As Senator Tammy Duckworth wrote, “I showed up at the #EIGala tonight because LGBTQ rights R Human Rights! (also a great party!)”

The excitement is building for the Equality Illinois 2017 Gala on Saturday night at the Hilton Chicago Hotel. You can still join the fun by clicking the link to purchase tickets today.

The important work of Equality Illinois advocating for the civil rights of LGBTQ Illinoisans is funded by events such as the gala.

When we talk to a state legislator, communicate with a member of Congress, train correctional officers, educate employers about inclusive work places and do many more things fighting for the rights of LGBTQ Illinoisans, we thank everyone who has contributed, whether it is through the gala or donating a few dollars or giving of their time.

The Equality Illinois 2017 Gala this Saturday will feature individuals who have benefited from the work of the state’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization, recognize those who have fought for equal rights and cared for our community, and offer a vision for the ongoing fight to improve the lived equality of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Illinoisans.

More than 1,200 community members, community leaders, dignitaries, and supporters, including Sen. Tammy Duckworth and other elected officials, plan to attend the Gala, which is annually the Midwest’s largest LGBTQ formal celebration, on Saturday, February 4, 2017 at the Hilton Chicago. Some of the world’s most recognizable corporate and brand names are among the sponsors of the gala.

We’ve entered into a new year and are excited about many new things, such as our 2017 Equality Illinois Gala taking place in just ONE MONTH from today! Join us, commemorate with us, and help us take equal rights for #LGBTQ Illinoisans to a new and exciting level. To get excited, watch the video below. To get REAL excited, purchase your tickets today.

Chicago Human Relations Commissioner Mona Noriega and Personal PAC CEO Terry Cosgrove will be the 2017 recipients of the Equality Illinois Freedom Award for their lifelong commitment to fighting for the civil rights and personal freedoms of all Illinoisans, the organization announced Monday.

The recognition will be made at the Equality Illinois 2017 Gala, the Midwest’s largest LGBTQ formal celebration, to be held on Saturday, February 4, 2017 at the Hilton Chicago.

“Mona Noriega and Terry Cosgrove epitomize the criteria for the Equality Illinois Freedom Award, which was created to honor individuals and organizations who demonstrate remarkable vision, courage, and leadership in the effort to achieve full equality for LGBTQ individuals in Illinois,” said Brian C. Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois.

For its dedication to improving the lives of LGBTQ Illinoisans, Equality Illinois will honor the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago with its Business Leadership Award.

The recognition will be made at the Equality Illinois 2017 Gala, the Midwest’s largest LGBTQ formal celebration, to be held on Saturday, February 4, 2017 at the Hilton Chicago.

“Lurie’s dedication to serving LGBTQ youth and families has earned it the deep appreciation of Equality Illinois and earned it the Business Leadership Award,” said Equality Illinois CEO Brian C. Johnson.

We are excited to announce the Equality Illinois 2017 Gala on February 4, 2017 at the Hilton Chicago.

The Midwest’s largest LGBTQ gala and fundraiser supports the work of Equality Illinois.

The Equality Illinois 2017 Gala is a celebratory winterfest of the accomplishments that advanced LGBTQ rights over the last year and a gathering of forces for the challenges that remain in our fight for full equality for all Illinoisans.

Her full acceptance speech and other moments during the Equality Illinois Jubilee Gala, including the recognition given the Mariano’s grocery chain with the 2016 Equality Illinois Business Leadership Award, can be seen on our YouTube channel.

The Equality Illinois 25th Anniversary Gala this Saturday will celebrate a quarter century of progress for LGBT Illinoisans and the organization’s enduring commitment to securing equal treatment for all.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi is the special guest for the jubilee celebration of the state’s oldest and largest organization advocating for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Illinoisans.